Pull-up and push-up exercises often require lifting a substantial portion (if not all) of one's weight using upper body muscles, and fitness novices tend not to have developed the muscles needed to perform such exercises without assistance. As such, individuals wishing to engage in exercise activities or enroll in fitness programs often have difficulty performing repetitions of pull-ups and push-ups on their own. Individuals performing such repetitions usually require varying levels of assistance, and each tends to progress at different rates. In the school setting, for example, physical education teachers often encounter the difficult task of having to assist various students requiring different levels of assistance to complete pull-ups and/or push-ups on their own, while monitoring and evaluating the performance and progress of all students. Current exercise equipment intended to provide assistance during pull-ups tends to be expensive and not portable. What is needed is a low-cost, versatile, and portable exercise device which is easy to use and which provides a variable degree of lift assistance during a variety of exercises.